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Researcher(s):
Kyle Miller
ENVS course(s): 400 Initiated: January 2015 Completed: May 2015 Go to project site
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Questions:
Does the way Siena represents itself correspond to the reasonings for it being inscribed as a WHS? How does WHS status affect Siena?
Background:
Italy in the late 16th century was the Western birthplace of the concept of the visualization of the scenic dimension of a landscape through artistic means, such as painting (Cosgrove 1985). The creation of landscape paintings created a greater demand for land improvement in Italy, perhaps in order to help harmonize and romanticize the imagery of the landscape. Italy has since been the place to go to in order to understand how to conceptualize “nature across the surface of paintings” (Cosgrove 2006). The United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organization created World Heritage Sites in 1972 in order to facilitate the recognition and protection of cultural and natural heritage “of outstanding universal value” (Harmon and Putney 2003). Italy currently has the most WHS’s in the world with an astonishing 50 sites. Italy is filled with an array of World Heritage Sites ranging from entire cities like Siena and Rome to mountains and buildings. The country is filled with cultural and natural significance. Italy is known for its immense relationship to art through its landscape and culture.
The Historic Centre of Siena was inscribed on the WHS list in 1995 due to its medieval architecture, influence on art, and because it is “a work of art that blends into the surrounding landscape” (UNESCO). The city is of great importance because it has preserved its historic character and quality–a quality that largely influenced art, architecture, and town planning in the Middle Ages. Today, Siena still embodies a Medieval Italy which is to be preserved according to its designation as a WHS. Siena is an interesting WHS because the entire city is considered a place of cultural significance. The city is filled with historical relics and historical significance. It is a great example of an iconic landscape that people have been representing for centuries in order to become a part of the scenery and perpetuate the image of the city.
Methodology:
I first conducted a content analysis of the Advisory Body Evaluation for Siena as a WHS. In this analysis I looked for specific descriptions of how Italy views Siena, physically, artistically, and culturally. Then I did the same content analysis on UNESCO’s report on Siena as a WHS. From this content analysis I will got an understanding of what types of images of Siena are produced, what they can symbolize, and why they are created.
Once I did a content analysis of the documents that made Siena into a WHS, I did ground work in Italy. I documented types of images I saw of Siena, (having categorized them through my content analysis), including what it symbolizes in the image, and how many times I saw that type of image or representation of the city. I collected as much tourist information (pamphlets, info packets, etc...) and analyzed how Siena represents itself to travelers.
I also conducted interviews of locals from Siena and people involved in perpetuating the historic image of the city. I will used these interviews to inform my visual analysis of the city. I wanted to interview people in the cultural department of Italy that are in charge of managing and maintaing World Heritage Sites but was unable to.
Lastly, I traveled to many other WHS’s in Italy and around Europe and investigated how they are represented as well. I traveled to Rome, Florence, Assisi, the Amalfi Coast, the Acropolis, and Barcelona to see the works of Gaudi.
Once I collected all my data, I did inferential statistics on my data to find which images were emphasized most, and in what places. I analyzed how the actual site compares to UNESCO’s description of the site and its hopes for preservation.
My data from Siena will be compiled with my data from Japan to address my thesis about how World Heritage Sites facilitate the representation and preservation of iconic landscapes.
Results/Conclusions:
Siena is a perfect example of a city that exemplifies exactly why it is a WHS. It wholly lives up to every reason it was inscribed as a WHS. This is seen in the architecture, city planning, city regulations, museums throughout the city, and its history and image is perpetuated by the locals and the tourists traveling to visit the city. “Siena is an outstanding medieval city that has preserved its character and quality to a remarkable degree. Its influence on art, architecture, and town planning in the Middle Ages, both in Italy and elsewhere in Europe, was great. The city is a work of dedication and imagination, in which the buildings have been designed to fit into the overall planned urban fabric, and is also to form a whole with the surrounding cultural landscape.”
ICOMOS, September 1995
There are many more WHS’s in Italy that get more tourist attraction like Florence and Rome. The World Heritage Site status is much more acknowledged in other sites than Siena. There is only one sign of WHS status in Siena in the Museo Civico in front of the fresco L'Allegoria del Buono e Cattivo governo (1337 -38) by Ambrogio Lorenzetti.
It is acknowledged in tourist info packets and informational books.
The locals of Siena were mostly concerned with the preservation of Siena’s history and appearance. They like the WHS status for its regulations on the city’s planning, preservation of the history of the city, and the artwork, especially because the city will not become populated and modernized like Florence.
References:
Andrews, Malcolm. 1999. Landscape and Western Art. Oxford University Press.
Cosgrove, Denis. 2006. “Modernity, Community and the Landscape Idea.” Journal of Material Culture 11 (1-2): 49–66. doi:10.1177/1359183506062992.
Harmon, David, and Allen Putney. 2003. The Full Value of Parks: From Economics to the Intangible. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
UNESCO. 2014. “UNESCO World Heritage Centre – Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.” UNESCO.org. http://whc.unesco.org/en/conventiontext/.
UNESCO. 1995. “Historic Centre of Siena – UNESCO World Heritage Centre.” http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/717.